Tex Man to Run for Office After Previously Suing for Marriage Equaility

A Texas man is running for office in the state he previously sued for his right to marriage.

Lawyer Mark Phariss was one of four people who sued the state in 2014 after it declared same-sex marriage unconstitutional in 2013, according to PinkNews. He now will run for a Texas senate seat in the 8th district.

"When I was accepting the fact that I was gay, there were two things I kind of thought I had to give up: one, getting married, and two, running for political office," Phariss said to the Dallas News. "I need to quit assuming what people will think. I need to allow them the choice."

Pharris said he was inspired to run by recent elections, including Democrat Doug Jones's win over accused-pedophile Republican Roy Moore for an U.S. Senate seat in Alabama and transgender Democrat Danica Roem's victory in Virginia.

Pharriss was able to be married shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all bans on gay marriage in July 2015. Current Texas governor Greg Abbott said in 2015 while he was attorney general that it was in his state's interest to ban same sex couple from marrying, according to PinkNews.

"But I'm running as a Texan, and I will absolutely represent every constituent in my district if I win," Phariss said. "So even those who vote against me - even those who vote against me because I'm gay, I will want to listen to them and represent them."